Snapshots
by EffervescentGrace
Summary: They're happy. Sometimes the past comes back. Absolutely smitten with one another. Will can't stop thinking. Life is great. He can't stop. Love is great. He misses him, sometimes. Prev 'Snapshots of the Past and Present'. Solangelo. SEQUEL TO WRONG NUMBER, READ THAT FIRST!
1. Chapter 1

" _You know, there are loads of kids here. You should play with them."_

" _Don't wanna."_

 _Will glanced up at the girl standing in front of him, flushing as the mumbled words left his mouth. She had long dark pigtails and pretty brown skin. Her eyes were green, the colour of grass in the middle of springtime. She wore a purple frilly dress and green sneakers, and she had her arms crossed. She was frowning._

" _Well, you gotta." She said with finality. "You'll get lonely if you don't play with others."_

 _Will looked around at the other kids in the kindergarten classroom. Some were playing with blocks, some were colouring, while others were reading. Will liked those things, but the other kids all had friends and Will knew they wouldn't like him. He was too quiet and girly for other boys to want to play, and girls didn't like playing with boys all that much. At least, that's what his brother Michael said, and that girls have cooties and were gross anyway._

 _He shook his head at the girl decisively. "Don't wanna." he repeated._

 _The girl pursed her lips and stood in silence for a couple of moments. She looked like she was thinking about something very hard._

" _What's your name?" She asked suddenly, unfolding her arms and suddenly appearing friendlier._

 _Will blinked in surprise at the question, though he wasn't exactly sure why. He was never exactly sure why he thought a lot of things that he did. "I'm Will- er, William… Will Solace. Will."_

 _Her lips quirked into a smile, like she thought he was funny but didn't want to show it. "I'm Lou Ellen, but you aren't allowed to call me that. Only my mother is, because I don't like it, and she's my mom so it's different. Call me Lou."_

" _Okay," Will said dumbly, staring at her with an almost owlish expression. Her grin widened and Will thought she looked very pretty all devious like that._

" _How old are you?" She asked._

" _Five," Will replied, folding out his hand to show her. Lou nodded, looking pleased._

" _I'm six, from last week." She said, chest swelling. "You can be my friend, if you want."_

 _Will stared at her, remembering cooties, and that girls didn't like being friends with boys. "Okay."_

 _Lou nodded in finality. "Cool." She said, glancing around at the other kids. "We could go play dress up. I'll be the pirate that saves the princess from a castle."_

 _Will frowned a bit. "Boys aren't meant to be princesses." He said. He was very sure of this._

 _Lou put her hands on her hips. "Who says?"_

 _Will frowned, thinking. "I don't know. People."_

 _Lou smiled again. 'It's not like it's a rule, or anything." She said, sounding as certain about this as she had been with everything else she had said. "Let's go play!"_

 _Will nodded and allowed her to pull him up by the front of his white overalls. He wondered, for a split second, why she wanted to be friends with him, but decided it didn't matter. She obviously thought there was something good about him that other people didn't see, or that he didn't see, and he quite liked that about her. She was loud and intimidating and pretty. He hoped they'd be friends forever._

"Will, I swear if I have to squirt you with a water bottle, I will not be pleased."

Will blearily blinked one eye open, groggily looking up at Lou, who was standing over his bed. He noticed, instantly despite his tired state, that she had cut and dyed her hair to a bubblegum pink pixie cut. She looked as gorgeous as always, and Will wished he could resent the fact that she never seemed to gain acne. Gods knew the foul beast of a skin condition constantly cropped up somewhere on his face, mostly on his nose, which was unfortunate because he usually had a very nice looking nose. But as it was, he couldn't resent this of Lou, as she had worked hard to have the appearance she did now.

"What'd you want?" He slurred, closing his eye again against the brilliant sunshine streaming through his window. It did little to help and he groaned, rolling onto his stomach, ignoring the way his shirt rode up his back, showing a patch of darkly tanned ski. Lou kicked the leg of his bed.

"I swear, you never used to be like this." She said in annoyance. "Nico keeping you up all night, I suppose?"

Will rolled back over and slung his legs over the edge of the bed, giving up on sleep but still not sitting, instead half lying on the bed with his lower half nearly on the floor. "Oh yes, definitely. All those late night Mario Kart sessions, you know how it is."

"Where is he, anyway?" Lou asked, ignoring the sarcasm in Will's voice. Will glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table, reading the time. It was twenty-eight past ten in the morning, and he supposed it is an acceptable time to be awake, even if it wasn't all that welcome.

"Probably still asleep." He said, yawning, stretching out his limbs and sliding down the bed even more. "He likes sleep more than I do, you know. Or he's at school. Probably school, actually."

Lou sat on the edge of Will's bed, crossing her skinny jean- clad legs, her extremely pointy looking shoe at the same level as Will's eyes. It was as stylish and dangerous as Lou was, which was to say, very. If Lou knew how to do anything, it was how to install both fear and admiration in people with a single glance. Will could not resent her this either, although unlike her appearance, this particular quality was very naturally Lou.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Lou said brashly. She often did things brashly. "I mean, I don't get _why_ you sleep in separate beds when you've been dating, for like, ever-"

"Six months," Will protested.

"Six months, then," Lou said dismissively. "Six months is enough time to at least _share a bed._ "

"I don't think we're quite there yet," Will mumbled uneasily. He was not at all sure when they would be there, and he wasn't sure if he was really all that comfortable with this line of questioning. Lou was looking down at him with critical green eyes.

"Will, I saw you guys literally share a piece of gum yesterday," She said, and Will blushed, embarrassed that they had been caught out. To be fair, it had been Will's last piece of gum, and Nico had been craving it lately in a way that was somewhat concerning. He was like a smoker trying to quit, but without the smoking or the quitting.

Lou's eyes softened as she looks at him, and then she sighed, tilting her head back to gaze at the ceiling. There were faded glow in the dark stickers scattered in the constellation of Pisces, which was Will's star-sign. Will was extremely proud of himself for thinking of it when he was fourteen, and at nineteen he was still proud. He couldn't help it, he thought that it was such a clever idea, and it matched into the pale walls and deep blue carpet and woven furniture of his bedroom, with the dark blue ceiling.

"Anyways," Lou said, as if trying to change the topic, which Will was all too willing to do. "What I was going to ask is- are you, or are you not coming shopping with me?"

Sometimes, Will asked himself whether he and Lou did too much shopping. They were often at the mall, and usually left with no less than two bags each. Will could barely contain his various clothes, accessories, and in some cases, cosplay costumes, under control in his wardrobe and drawers. It didn't help that he did not particularly care of the preferred gender of the clothing, and instead just bought clothes that he thought he'd look good in. His mother was constantly warning Will that his father would cut off his keycard if he kept it up, but both of Will's parents knew that he only used that money for his college fees, and not whimsical shopping. That was what he works for.

"Sure," Will said easily, despite his reflections. "Just let me properly wake up and get dressed."

Lou looked unsurprised and jumped up elegantly, already halfway out the bedroom. "Cool. You guys have Special K, right?"

Will made a sound of affirmation, finally sitting fully before shifting and standing, wincing as his muscles screamed at him for being in such a position for so long. Making no promises to his protesting body, Will made his way over to his wardrobe and began choosing his clothes. He had, as he always did, a split second of dysorphia, when he isn't sure who exactly he is. But then he was grounded again, the male pronoun in his mind and he pulled out a white button-down shirt and a pair of pale blue jeans. Sometimes, Will wondered what it is like to have a set gender, to always have the knowledge and contentment in knowing you were perfectly male, or female, or non-binary. Sometimes, he was awfully tired of being genderfluid, but then he remembered how unhappy he was when he didn't know, couldn't work out what was wrong with him and why he felt the way he did. He was much happier knowing who he was, even if it does sometimes lead to contemplation.

He shrugged out of his pajamas and into his outfit and got ready for the day. He thought about Nico. He often thought about Nico, because Nico was someone who could provoke thought. Will wondered where exactly Nico was right now, because he was actually uncertain whether he had class. Will fumbled for his phone, sending a quick: _Hey sunshine, are you in class or am I a horrible bae for not knowing where you are? (pls tell me you aren't in the house)_

Will was pretty fond of texting Nico. It was how they met, nearly a year ago now, and Will still sometimes grinned at the first incredibly aggressive message Nico had accidentally texted him. He really did love Nico, even when he was being violent towards his friends.

Will walked out of his bedroom and downstairs towards the kitchen, knowing Lou had probably eaten the last of his cereal. She often did things like that, knowing Will won't get too mad at her anyways. They had been best friends since they were young, and Lou knew she can get away with most things when it came to Will. He didn't particularly mind in any way, after all, he got away with just as much when it came to Lou.

Will's phone made a tinging noise and he looked down at it, grinning at Nico's reply.

 _I am indeed in class and this reply is now taking up valuable learning time. Tsk tsk, how dare you (which means, no I'm not in the house, and yes, I'm a little surprised you remembered my schedule well enough.)_

Will had to suppress a giggle, which he often had to do when he was speaking to Nico. He couldn't help it, when Nico made him as happy as he did. He walked down the stairs one at a time, suddenly much more awake and excited at the prospect of going shopping. He would get to see Nico later on, and even though he always did, it still brightened his mood. Maybe they could go on a date, and Will could wear whatever he bought today. With that in mind, he cheerfully made his way to where Lou was.

Nico di Angelo was an enigma to most, Will knew. He looked like a mystery, dressed in his black skinny jeans and band t-shirt and leather jacket, the image of a punk rock wannabee. His hair kind of pulled off the look as well- he'd been able to grow it out since leaving military school (even though he had already been toeing a fine line with the rules), and could now tie it in a small ponytail at the back of his head. The only thing that ruined the look was the pretty glow to his rich olive skin, and the adoring smile on his face.

Will looked away, flushed and pleased to be the reason for that expression on his boyfriend's face. They were facing each other in a booth at the diner around the block from Will's family home, and have half eaten potato wedges and burgers sat between them. Will was sipping a strawberry thick shake, and Nico was dipping wedges into the ketchup dipping sauce, leaving the aioli sauce untouched because he knew Will loved it.

They did this sometimes, to catch up with one another outside of the nosy ears of Will's family. Nico lived with Will, had been for about three months, after living with his best friend, Percy Jackson. Nico had felt so guilty living there, however, as there hadn't been much room, but Will's house was a farmhouse, and was more than large enough for an extra person since his older twin siblings, Kayla and Michael, moved out. So he was living down the hall from Will, despite this however, they didn't really have the time or privacy to speak to each other properly at home. So they went on dates, which were mostly casual, to catch up, but also because they really liked each other. They were both romantics.

"Baby," Nico began, as he usually does. He had taken to calling Will 'baby' whenever he could, because it both embarrassed and pleased Will, which was something Nico enjoyed immensely. However, the affects had started wearing off, and now it was just a nickname. "I swear to god you're the cutest little shit in the world."

Will smiled brightly, bringing his straw to his lips and taking a sip before saying, "Really, what was I doing that was cute?"

Nico made some wide gesture with his hands. "Your whole face just kinds of lights up when you speak and I love it."

Will blushed and took another sip of his drink to hide his grin. He loved it when Nico complimented him like that. He reached over and took Nico's hand over the table, and Nico stroked his thumb over Will's knuckles.

They ate in companionable silence for a couple of minutes, until Nico, looking casually interested in his burger, said. "So, my sister and mom are coming to New York for a couple of days next week."

Will's head shot up, eyes wide. It was all he could do to keep his mouth closed and swallow his food. "Your mom? And Bianca?" He gave Nico an uncertain look. "They don't like me."

It wasn't bad to say that, because they both knew it to be the truth, and Nico hated sugarcoating things. Nico ran his foot against Will's calf gently.

"They don't," He agreed softly, "But that's just because they don't know you. Jason didn't like you before you guys met, remember?"

Will did remember, but Jason was different to the di Angelo women. They were Nico's blood relatives, and he loved his family more than anything. Will desperately wanted them to like him, but he wasn't sure how to do that when they always went off Skype or the phone when Will was around Nico. It was frustrating and nerve wracking and so Will tended to avoid Nico's room whenever that was going on. He hated cutting Nico's family time short.

Will dipped a wedge into the aioli sauce and ate it slowly. "I guess," He said around a mouth full of potato. "But what if they still don't like me when we actually meet?"

Nico squeezed the hand he was still holding. "Well, that'd be their problem then," He leaned over the table and kissed Will slowly. "Don't worry, it won't change anything in our relationship if that happens."

Will pressed a short kiss to Nico's lips. "I just really want them to like me," He said quietly. Nico sighed against his mouth and pulled back.

"You know I can't really guarantee that, baby," He said, looking upset about it. "We'll just have to make sure they see how amazing you are, okay?"

Will nodded hesitantly, unsure what exactly _was_ amazing about him. Always uncertain, always unsure.

"Is that pineapple on your burger?" He asked instead of voicing his uncertainties. The look Nico shot him made it obvious he knew that Will wasn't exactly reassured, but he still peeled the pineapple off his burger and gave it to Will, who promptly dipped it into the aioli sauce.

Nico made a scandalized sound and began protesting. Will laughed and ate the food, grinning with a mouth full of pineapple and aioli.

* * *

 ** _15/12/15_**

 ** _Author's Note (Generic): I'M BACK YAY!_**

 ** _My hiatus was a lot shorter than I thought it'd be, to be honest. I've just started my six week holidays, and I'm hoping to finish a few of my stories in that time! I'm really unhappy with my writing right now, though. I'm kind of rusty at the moment. I've only been writing essays and study notes for so long now aha!_**

 ** _Once these six weeks are up, I probably won't update as frequently again, though. I've started my last year of high school, and I've got a scholarship for university, but if I want to obtain the $20 000 for the tuition, I need to receive an ATAR of 90+ (which is like, the hardest to get and only like, 2 people a year in the state get it .). So i'll need to study loads next year, but for now I'm work free so YAY!_**

 ** _Author's Note (for this fic):_**

 ** _This is the rebooted version of my fic 'Call Me' which was the Wrong Number sequel! I decided I HATED the original sequel and wanted to like, actually have a plan of where I was going with the story._**

 ** _I feel like they may be out of character though? I don't know. Nico's a lot fluffier when he's in love, I find that I write him that way._**

 ** _Obviously they can't get enough of each other, ahaha!_**

 ** _Anyways, I don't really have anything to say for this one, other than that I really really hope you all love it!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_Will stumbled from the car, skidding to a stop with a wince, cursing himself for being so clumsy. He looked up, glancing around, wondering if anyone had seen him, and flushes when he notices a boy dressed in all black eyeing him with a smirk. Will ducked his head, playing with the hem of his white sweater and following his family into church. The boy was attractive- in a way that he could convince you to run your car into a telephone pole with a mere word._

 _Will and his family sat in the pews, near the front. It was where they always sat. His family were creatures of habit, they resented unnecessary change. The boy sat next to Will, and his heart caught in his throat. He was nervous, so nervous. This boy was older than him, maybe seventeen or eighteen. Will was just gone fifteen, and life was so confusing for him at the moment. He wasn't sure whether he definitely only liked boys, or whether he was a boy, and he was just so muddled. He wished Lou was there with him, she always kept him steady, grounded, shook sense into him when the world couldn't stop spinning and he felt like being sick all over the place from disdain aimed towards himself. As it was, her family were pagans, and didn't go to church._

" _Hey," The boy whispered to him, low voice a warm lilt. Will startled and blushed furiously, darting his eyes to his mother, who was paying them no attention, and then to the boy. He had silky black hair in an undercut, his skin was light and his eye- the one that wasn't covered by his hair- was as silky black as his hair. Dangerous. Beautiful. A panther in a field of gazelle. Will felt a strange thrill go through him._

" _Hi," He murmured back hesitantly. The boy smiled again. Beside the boy, there was a middle-aged couple, the man glancing at the two boys every so often. It made Will's stomach twist unpleasantly, and he wished he knew what to do. The boy was watching him expectantly, and Will realised with increasing horror that he was expecting Will to continue. "I- um, I've never seen you here before?"_

 _The boy smiled angelically, leaning to talk in Will's ear as to not draw attention to themselves, though Will was certain that two boys leaning close to one another in the front pews of a church had to be noticeable. "I'm new around here. My family moved from Virginia."_

 _Will was immediately surprised, and then felt guilty for being so. Casual racism, in the form of assuming one was from a particular nationality due to his features, was something Will was acutely aware of, thanks to Lou educating him on political correctness._

" _That's- um, that's good to know." Will murmured back, "You don't have a Virginian accent, though."_

 _The boy looked pleased. "Yeah, I only lived there a couple of years. I'm originally from Boston."_

 _Will clutched the end of sweater in his hands. "Oh, um- I've, um, lived here my whole life."_

 _The boy glanced down at where Will was holding his clothing and slowly slid his gaze back up to Will's face, which felt uncomfortably warm._

" _I'm Ethan Nakamura." He continued to whisper, and Will stumbled getting his name out, wondering why he could never seem to get it right. Ethan gave him another brilliant smile, and he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the pastor, who asked for everyone's attention. Ethan faced the front, and during the proceedings, Will was uncomfortably aware of their shoulders brushing against one another._

 _After church ended, and Will was walking out with his family, Ethan said to him casually, "You know, you're the prettiest churchgoer I've ever seen. We should go out sometime."_

 _Stunned and flattered, Will nodded, swallowing against the feeling that it was explicitly wrong to be lightly flirting with a boy within the confinements of a church. Ethan smiled that wonderful smile again._

" _Great!" And he genuinely seemed to think it was, though Will didn't think he warranted such a reaction. "Here, pass me your phone, I'll add my number in."_

 _Will silently handed it over, watching as Ethan quickly tapped in his phone number. A warm, foreign feeling filled Will's body, and his eyes darted to the ground._

 _Ethan was beckoned by his mother, and he leaned forward, as if to kiss Will, only to pull back at the last second, laughing as if embarrassed. "I'll call you, okay?"_

"You know," Will murmured, clutching Nico's shirt tightly in his hands. "I kind of didn't expect our date to end this way."

Nico pressed a gentle, open- mouthed kiss to Will's neck, humming lightly. Will could feel his grin against his skin. "Me neither, but I'm not really complaining all that much."

Will chuckled, sliding his hands up to wrap them around Nico's shoulders. They were standing in Nico's room, only a few steps from the doorway. Really, they had travelled towards the room with thoughts of playing Super Smash Bros together, but as soon as they closed the door, and faced one another, they hadn't been able to help themselves.

Nico was shorter than Will, by three inches. Will was six foot two, and Nico five-eleven, and it was painfully obvious when they were kissing. Nico ran his hands along Will's sides, pulling at his hips so they were closer together. He angled his head up, persistent as he always was. Will grinned, leaning down to press a kiss against his mouth. The height difference was something Will enjoyed. This was always in anime and books and fanfiction. It made him happy that they had that in their lives, even if it was inconvenient at times.

"You're smug about the height thing again, aren't you?"

Will cackled, nudging Nico's nose with his own. "You bet I am,"

"You're so lame," Nico said, smiling brightly, nudging Will's nose in return. "I don't know why I'm dating you."

Will grinned mischievously, "Um, because I traded you a Charizard for a Ralts on my Pokemon X game?" He suggested.

"God, you're such a fucking _nerd,_ " Nico said fondly, cupping Will's face and kissing him enthusiastically. Will puffed out a laugh and pressed his hands into the small of Nico's back, arching his body against Will's and causing a content sigh to leave the both of them.

"Will…" Nico said softly, pushing on Will's chest. Will leaned back, his dreamy, happy expression fading at the expression on Nico's face. He seemed so serious, and kind of nervous, which was never a good combination with Nico.

"Yeah, sunshine?" Will asked, stepping back slightly. Nico bit his lip, then nodded his head once, as if readying himself for a conversation.

"I was wondering if you... had ever thought about sex," He said. At Will's blank stare, he continued. "With me. Sex with me. In- um, any… way. Like-"

Will turned his head to the side to avoid looking at Nico's awkward but also confident face. He felt his face pinch into a frown.

"We aren't having sex, Nico."

Nico's face pinked slightly. "…Okay."

They stood silently, both awkward, one of them disappointed, the other annoyed. Will chanced a look at Nico's face, then found he couldn't bear it, looking away quickly again, moving towards the door.

"I have to Austin up from day care shortly, so I'm going to go,"

"Okay," Nico said in a small voice. "I'm sorry."

Will had his hand on the door handle, and paused, sighing. He turned back to look at Nico. "Look… it's not that I don't… think about it. I do- But I just don't… think I'm ready."

He wondered if he was strange because of that. Lou always alluded to sex whenever possible. Was Will just a prude? He didn't think so- it wasn't like he was a virgin. He had plenty of sex when he was with Ethan. He just didn't know.

Nico was nodding though, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable, baby, I honestly didn't mean-"

"No, no," Will said gently, always loving this part of Nico. His boyfriend was always considerate of the fact that he was genderfluid, and he tried his best in any way to make sure he never did anything to upset Will, which included talking about sex. The rest of Will's agitation melted away with the thought that Nico must have been thinking about this a lot to bring it up. "You weren't making me uncomfortable at all…"

Nico nodded, but said no more, rubbing his arm awkwardly. Will coughed, running a hand through his hair.

"Did you want to come with me to pick up Austin?"

And like that, the rest of the tension faded, Nico smiling and nodding, taking his hand.

/\

"Okay, but like, I don't understand?"

Will sighed, rolling her eyes. "Lou, how many times to I have to say it- I don't understand either."

Lou took a sip of her frappe, frowning lightly as she scrutinised her eyeliner in the mirror. "Do you think the point is sharp enough?" She asked, turning and closing in on Will's personal space.

Will inspected her face for a few short moments. "Yeah, it looks fine."

Lou turned back to the mirror, and Will rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, but I get that you're not ready, babe, but is that because you just aren't ready for sex, or is it because you aren't ready for sex with someone who isn't Ethan Nakamura?"

Will felt a heavy frown fall onto her face instantly. "Lou, you need to fucking learn when to stay in your lane?"

Lou frowned at her through the mirror. "God, what's with the attitude?"

"What's with _your_ attitude?"

Lou whirled around, leaning on the edge of the bathroom sink and giving Will the biggest 'Are you fucking shitting me?' look she had ever seen.

"Will, I don't know if you've noticed this, but since you and Ethan broke up, you've constantly avoided the topic of sex, and also avoided getting with any guy that you think might want some action. And now that Nico has spoken to you about doing the do, it's kind of worrying me that you're gonna split."

Will gaped at her, shocked and offended. "You'd think I'd break up with him because he wants to have sex with me?"

Lou shrugged. "To be honest, Will, you're so weird about the sex thing that I don't even know. If you were ace, I'd understand. If it were just about not being ready, I'd understand. But you've literally told me in explicit detail over the phone the fantasies you've had about Nico, and you've complained about your lack of sex life, but then as soon as there's a possibility you might _actually have one,_ you get all weird about it!"

Will clenched her hands to stop them from shaking, but couldn't stop the angry flush in her cheeks. "Fuck you, Lou."

Lou glared, about to rise to the bait when she paused, slowly exhaling. "I'm not trying to be a shitty friend, babe. I'm really not, even though it seems like I am. It's just- god, sometimes I worry something has happened to you, and you've never told me about it, and I get really scared."

Will forced air into her lungs, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't worry Lou, nothing bad has happened. I'm just being weird and I don't know why."

Lou bit her lip, "Promise?"

Will nodded her head, looking up at her best friend slowly. "Promise."

Lou floundered for a second. "Well… good," She mumbled haltingly, before lifting her chin, gaining confidence again. "Well anyway, you need to work whatever it is out, because you both seem to constantly be in a state of blue balls and no way am I able to help that situation. Now, did you want light or dark eyeshadow?"

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Ahhh… man, this is late, sorry. And it's unedited, rip.**_

 _ **I'd love feedback despite my crappy updating, if you could!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_The air is full of wispy smoke and the laughter of drunk teenagers. They were all either lounging and talking to each other over the base of the music, or dancing to the indie rock. Will leaned against Ethan, laughing hysterically at a joke, warm from the arm casually thrown around his shoulders and the bubbly drinks he'd been sipping throughout the night. He tugged on Ethan's jacket when they locked eyes, and brought their mouths together for a long kiss. Will moved until he was nearly in Ethan's lap, and pressed his fingers gently to cup his jaw when arms encircled his waist._

 _Ethan laughed after a moment and pulls away, patting Will's arm indulgently. "You're drunk."_

 _Will shrugged and moved to kiss him again, hands trailing back to his jacket. "So?"_

" _So, I'm sober and I'm not going to do this." Ethan gently unclasped Will's hands from his clothes, smiling at him with utter adoration. "What time were you meant to be home, baby?"_

 _Will thought about it, blinking slowly as his brain tried to provide an answer to the question. "One in the morning." He drawled, voice slurred with the effort of remembering after a drawn out moment. "But I want to stay with you. Don't make me go home, please, Ethan. I love you."_

 _Ethan laughed again and kissed his forehead, running a hand through his sweat-curled blonde hair. "I love you too, baby. Don't worry, I'm coming with you. I won't leave you on your own."_

" _Do you promise?" Will asked, all doe-eyed and with a soft, doubtful expression. He had never liked the term 'baby' until Ethan started using it. Ethan pinched his cheek, and Will suddenly remembered Ethan was like, three years older than him. Starting college._

" _Of course. I'll even cuddle you if your mom lets me in your room."_

 _Will beamed and tried to kiss him again, laughing brightly when Ethan tickled him to distract him._

* * *

One thing Will was sure of was that he was quite possibly the biggest idiot alive. This belief was only reiterated when his aunt, six-year old Artemis, said "Will, you're the biggest idiot alive."

Artemis (birth-name Diana, but nobody called her that because they respected that if she wanted to be Artemis, she was Artemis) wasn't very good at helping Will's self-esteem. Letting her clamber up into his lap, her copper ringlets bouncing as she very nearly missed standing on his genitals, Will asked, "What makes you say that, Arty?"

She gave him a bemused expression, clearly unimpressed. "It's _Artemis._ "

"Sorry," He struggled not to let his smile show too much. "What makes you say that, Artemis?"

"Freddie went to heaps of effort for you." She said bluntly. "And you totally dissed him."

Wondering to himself if anyone even said diss anymore, Will made a face at the child. "I know. I said sorry to him."

"Freddie was real sad," She said, snuggling into his chest despite her words and general attitude. Will hugged her tightly, melting a little at her obviously sleepy eyes. "He just wants to be friends with Nico, but you don't want them to be around each other."

Will knew she had a point, he just wished it wasn't the six-year old that had to tell him this. "It's not that. Dad just makes Nico a little nervous- "

"He does not, Nico really likes dad. He thinks he's weird like you."

Okay. So now he was the biggest idiot alive and weird. He guessed he could deal with that; it wasn't like it wasn't exactly true. He stayed quiet when Artemis continued. "I think Nae should have Freddie and I for dinner tonight, and then Nico and Freddie can get along."

"Arty, I don't think-"

" _Artemis!_ "

"Fine- Artemis, don't you think it's a little late to be organising a family dinner. There are so many people in the house already-"

"No! You gotta do it, Will!" She said, smacking his chest, suddenly awake and alert enough to glare at her nephew intensely. "You gotta, gotta, gotta-!"

" _Okay!_ " He yelped, grabbing her hands and gently putting them in her lap. "Okay, Artemis. We'll have a family dinner tonight. But you and Austin are sitting at the kids table-"

"Austin is a _baby_ , that's not fair-"

Will couldn't help his grin this time. "Do you want to have this dinner or not?"

Artemispouted, adorable as always, angry as always. Will smiled sweetly at her, knowing he had won.

* * *

4:43PM- So it seems we're going to be having a very large, family dinner tonight.

 **4:43PM- Please elaborate?**

4:44PM- You know. Like, everyone including Arty and dad is gonna be there. Kay and Michael are home today. Mom's making lasagne AND barbeque.

 **4:46PM- it sounds nice, when should I be home? (also, why is this happening?)**

4:47PM- pls be home by 7 at the latest xx (Arty)

 **4:48PM- of course baby xx Ill bring home cheesecake**

4:49PM- you truly live up to your name, di Angelo~~

 **4:49PM- oh shut up xD ill see you soon**

4:50PM- LOVE YOU MUNCHKIN

* * *

Will felt, overall, the dinner was going well considering how worried he had been about the whole thing. Nico was on his right, chatting to Will's mother about school and his courses and Percy Jackson. On his left side, Lee was peering down at his phone, his ears bright red under his freshly-dyed brown hair as Lou looked over his shoulder to read the article he was looking at. Michael was talking to their dad about some new EDM single that had come out of his dad's studio, and Artemis and Austin were colouring in on the floor, their own food abandoned.

Kayla leaned across the table and smiled at Will warmly, tugging on one of the locks of his blond hair. "Are you growing this out again?"

Kayla was probably Will's favourite out of his siblings because she was the most like him. He grinned back at her, thinking about how he had not had a haircut in the last couple of months. "I wasn't really- do you think I should?"

Kayla looked like she was seriously contemplating it and then shook her head. "Nah, I think you look better with it shorter." She said, squishing his cheeks. "How would we see these cute things if you had long hair?"

Will complained playfully, knowing full well that Kayla had a major soft- spot for his round cheeks. She was always trying to feed him more, even when he didn't want to be fed.

She sat back in satisfaction, watching him considerately. "I have some new skirts and dresses upstairs," She said easily, slapping Michael's shoulder when he threw a couple of peas at her. "You should try them on after dinner. My hips aren't narrow enough for them."

Will felt his heart swell with love for his sister. His family had all been accepting when he'd told them he was genderfluid, but none more than Kayla, who was always offering him whatever feminine clothes she thought he would like. He adored her for it completely.

"I'd like that a lot, Kay," He smiled gratefully, and they both went back to their food, tuning into different conversations. Will glanced at Lee and Lou as they spoke to one another, covering his mouth to hide his grin at the shy smiles and nervous gestures Lee was making.

Lou was utterly insane, but she was utterly insane in a way that made everyone fall a little bit in love with her. And he guessed Lee had been severely pinched by the love bug. It was adorable, really, to see his sixteen-year old brother who tried to appear as if he didn't have a care in the world, act so flustered around a girl he had known for a couple of years.

Will glanced over to Nico when he felt an arm drape over his shoulders, and suddenly he was hit with a hard nostalgia that he tried to swallow as Nico smiled sweetly at him and murmured a 'You've barely touched your food, baby.'

Will quickly looked down at his food, but not before noticing the flash of confusion cross Nico's face. Sometimes he couldn't look at him- they were nothing alike, but everything alike. Will wanted to be sick, he felt queasy.

"Will, are you alright?" Nico asked in his ear, and Will swallowed down his unease to give him a gentle smile and lean against him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just remembered that I haven't caught up on Mob Psycho 100 yet, and I got a little stressed out-"

"You're such a weeb," Nico rolled his eyes fondly, nudging him. Will had heard the same thing for months, and sometimes it was just a wondrous experience to be able to know that this, this is what Nico probably looked like when he had been staring down at his phone during those months they had talked before he graduated. It blew Will's mind sometimes to think he was this lucky to have a guy like Nico. He was so- "You should at least be fawning over Re:Zero-"

Um, excuse me? Will stared at Nico like he was crazy, ready to tell him exactly what he thought about that. "I finished Re:Zero last week, Mob wasn't even on my radar until yesterday, so of course I'll be thinking about it more-"

"Have you watched Yuri on Ice yet?" Nico interrupted quickly and Will immediately launched into a wistful tale of how he wanted to watch it with Nico, but Nico had been so busy and they simply hadn't had time.

All in all, dinner had been going splendidly.

"I'm just saying, Lou, is koreaboo really the correct term if they're deriving it from something Japanese…?"

Will tucked his phone between his neck and shoulder, peering down at the two boxes of cereal in his hands and trying to determine which one Austin wouldn't spit out onto his high-chair. He rolled his eyes as Lou spoke, and put the less colourful one back on the shelf.

"No, I get that it's a pop culture colloquialism, but like, I still think it's a slightly problematic way to talk about problematic people, you kn- Shit!" Will stumbled back, nearly dropping both his grocery basket and his phone, fumbling and letting his basket drop to the floor as he saved his phone, clutching it tightly to his chest.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Will said anxiously, leaning down and beginning to shovel his items back in the basket, looking up to smile gratefully as the person he had completely crashed into righted the basket into a standing position.

"It's not a problem, I was looking at my phone-" The mysterious person said, and Will's smile fixed on his face as he gazed fully at the person. Man. With silky black hair and silky black eyes dressed in a soft looking university sweatshirt and sweatpants and looking heart-achingly attractive. Oh. Oh no.

"U-Um…" He began, voice small. He looked around slowly, trying to find an escape, but his eyes always came back to that face, which was slowly morphing into an expression of surprise.

"…Will." Shit, he sounded great saying his name, oh no, oh god-

Will swallowed, tongue thick in his mouth and cheeks flushed and ears ringing. "Hey… Hey, Ethan."


End file.
